


Prom Queen (The Jealousy in my Bones Won't Rattle Tonight)

by Mouse (clandestineAbattoir)



Series: That's Not Me I'll Never Be Prom Queen [1]
Category: The Adventure Zone (Podcast)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst, Duck is worried and gay, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Indrid is sad and gay, M/M, Post-Canon, Self-Esteem Issues, Songfic, Trans Duck Newton, that doesnt come up but I just wanted y'all to know
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-28
Updated: 2019-09-28
Packaged: 2020-10-29 16:53:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 923
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20799860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/clandestineAbattoir/pseuds/Mouse
Summary: "I'm a wandererI weave my way by dancin'In hopes that the cool kids will ask me to stayI'm invisible to bright lightsJust standing on the side line waiting for a standing ovationThat I know just isn't mine"-Prom Queen by Catie Turner





	Prom Queen (The Jealousy in my Bones Won't Rattle Tonight)

**Author's Note:**

> This took a while but I had to get it out of my system. If you want, follow my tumblr: clericduck.

Indrid had always been good at fading into the background. It had been a necessary talent, for a while, to keep himself safe. But now things had settled into a pathological blur, and he found that he was… lonely. Like now that he wasn’t useful anymore, people didn’t care to notice him. At first, it had been comforting. He felt as though a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders. But now… he felt isolated. 

He was sitting on the floor of his Winnebago, idly doodling. They weren’t visions. Just distractions. He was vaguely zoning out, isolation seeping into his soul, when he heard a familiar knock pattern on his door. It startled him out of his own thoughts, and he was so startled he didn’t see it coming that he forget to get up and, well, actually answer the door. 

“‘Drid?” Duck called out through the door.

“Come in,” he called in reply, his voice cracking. Huh. Why did his voice crack?

Duck pushed the door open, stepping in and bumping the door closed behind him. He looked at Indrid, and his face went from a little concerned to super concerned.

“Indrid, are you okay? You’re cryin’,” Duck’s voice was gentler than someone like Indrid deserved. Indrid raised a hand to his own face, and felt tears. 

“Huh. This is new.”

“Oh, ‘Drid,” Duck kneeled on the floor next to where Indrid was sitting, voice earnest and kind, “what’s wrong?”

“I…” Indrid didn’t know how to respond. What was wrong? It wasn’t like he wasn’t used to being forgotten. Why did it hurt so much this time around? 

Because, he realized, he had grown attached. To Aubrey, and her unrelenting determination to bring happiness to her loved ones. To Ned (God rest his soul) and his affection for these people he had made some sort of family out of. And to Duck, sweet Duck, who Indrid may have the biggest crush on, and his unwavering determination to always choose the kindest option. To help. Even when people may not have wanted that help. He didn’t want that to end. He wanted to be a part of that, still. Before he was even conscious of it, he felt himself lean forward and cling to Duck desperately.

“Please don’t leave…”

“Whoah, hey, I got ya’, ‘Drid, I ain't goin’ anywhere, okay? I’ve got you.”

Duck carefully wrapped his arms around Indrid, and rubbed a hand across Indrid’s shaking back.

They sat like this, Indrid crying into Duck’s shirt for what was probably far too long. He was probably ruining Duck’s shirt, but Duck seemed to pay this no mind. After a while, Indrid gathered some scraps of composure, and managed to stop clinging to Duck and sit up properly. He offered Duck a watery smile.

“My apologies, I’m not quite sure what got a hold of me,” he apologized. There was definitely a tear stain in Duck’s shirt. Drat.

“Don’t gotta apologize for nothin’. You feelin’ any better? At least enough to talk about what’s makin’ ya hurt something fierce?” Duck kept his voice steady, but Indrid could see pain in those eyes, and it made Indrid want to vomit. Duck shouldn’t have to hurt, not ever again. Not after what he and the other members of the Pine Guard had been through. 

“I…” Indrid took a steadying breath, hugging his arms to his own chest, “I am… scared, Duck. Scared of being left behind. People tend to hand around for my gift of foresight and not much else. I am worried that now that you don’t have immediate use of my abilities, you and the rest of the Pine Guard will simply leave me alone, and as happy as I used to be in relative isolation, I do believe I’ve let myself get attached,” he admitted. 

He felt Duck’s warm hand touch his face, and he leaned into it despite himself.

“‘Drid, we ain't just gon’ up and leave you alone like that. You’re our friend, damnit, and just cuz’ you had some pretty shitty friends in the paint don’t mean that we all got to be shitty to ya. We care about ya, ‘Drid, all of us.”

“I…”

“Indrid, fuck, I care about you, okay? Why the hell do you think I’m here? I was worried fuckin’ sick we had heard neither hide nor fuckin’ hair of you.”

“You don’t care in the way I want you to.”

Duck froze, and Indrid’s blood ran cold. Fuck. That had slipped out without him meaning it to. 

“Whatcha mean by that?” Duck’s voice was apprehensive, with some layer of something Indrid couldn’t quite place. 

“I…” well, no going back now. Hopefully this didn’t go completely south. He didn’t foresee that it would, but he wasn’t sure. Duck was unpredictable. That was one of the things he liked about him, ironically. 

“I like you, Duck. As… I like you in a romantic way, and it’s been decades since I’ve liked someone like this and I’m scared.” 

Duck’s expression softened, and Indrid realized what that other thing he couldn’t place was. Hope. Maybe Duck did like him like that, after all.

“Oh, ‘Drid. You ain’t gotta be scared. I’ve uh… well I’ve fancied you since I met you in the ‘Bago that first time,” Duck’s cheeks grew red as he spoke, and Indrid couldn't suppress a giggle. 

“Fancied me? And I thought I was the old one.”

“Shut the fuck up and kiss me.”

And he did, and suddenly, Indrid didn’t feel so scared anymore. 


End file.
